


Walk Away Renee

by PseudoFox



Series: The Evergreens [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anthropomorphic, Depression, F/M, Friendship/Love, Furry, Sad, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 08:58:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7308472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PseudoFox/pseuds/PseudoFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Wilde wakes up to another deary morning in Zootopia. With nobody to count on, Nick fumbles through existence without much in the way of hopes and dreams. Yet a random encounter sets off something inside of the fox.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walk Away Renee

The loud chimes rang out, building in volume by the second, and Nick Wilde jerked awake. He smacked his head against the dirty black jacket hanging from the nearby lamp before taking in a deep breath. His mind replayed scattershot images of him stuck on a rowboat in a lake of strawberry juice, the fox rubbing his paws against his eyes. Most of his dream flushed out of his mind as he sat up, the fox sleepily fumbling around to hit the alarm.

It took about a good forty-five seconds for Nick to remember that he didn't have an alarm. Another thirty seconds passed before he recalled the rest of it— he'd parked the van that he called home across from the clock tower for exactly that reason. After the loud chimes stopped, Nick wiggled himself backward and kicked his ragged blanket and small pillows to the side. He thought that, all in all, he'd rather have remained stranded in the strawberry juice lake.

The fox slipped on the jacket and stepped over to the other side of the van— popping a pair of cheap sunglasses into his pocket. He gripped a toothbrush and toothpaste sticking out of an old coffee can before sighing. Glancing out through the blinds, predictably covered in mysterious stains like half of the things he owned, his eyes locked upon the various food trucks on the other side of the street. While his stomach grumbled, Nick looked away and reached over for the t-shirt, underwear, and shorts that he'd rolled up in a tiny ball.

Nick tucked the clothes ball carefully inside the jacket, stopping to blankly stare at his reflection in the van's rear-view mirror. He sighed again as his eyes trailed along the edges of his jagged, messy fur over to that damned collar around his neck. Well used to these routines, the fox massaged his temples as he walked out of the van into the empty alleyway. The cold wind smacked into him like a torrent of little punches upon his body. He brushed his face for a moment, his paws rubbing against the collar once again, as he made his way down the concrete.

Boredom almost dripping off of the fox's face, Nick mentally went over the business after business that he planned to walk into only for them to turn him down, like they always did. He scanned the same familiar neighborhood at the end of the short alleyway. Nick leaned up against the a rusty set of pipes on the side of a red and brown brick apartment complex, having done so countless times before, and he wondered why he should bother taking another step. Shutting his eyes, he thought about how a bunch of identical apartment buildings stretched off to his right while liquor store after liquor store stretched off to his left. The whole location seemed so soulless, so plain, and so ordinary. He'd barely be able to describe to his friends where to find him— not that he had any friends in the first place.

Nick knew that everyone in his neighborhood worshiped the same God in the same way, listened to the same music, rooted for the same teams, wore the same clothes, and studied the half-explained drivel in the same piece of garbage school with the same impossible dreams. The fox, at least, didn't share their naive dreams of getting out. Yet the whole thing still sickened him in some profound yet subtle sense— feeling like a dull pain from a splinter that never came out.

Who someone was as a mammal depended simply on the name of the street where he or she came from. That was just the Zootopian way. That was that.

Nick opened his eyes again and brushed a paw against the cold bricks, trying to force himself back to reality. He had a date with one of the shower and bathroom stalls at the public gym merely a stone's throw away, and he knew that he shouldn't miss it. He jogged over toward the gym, moving at a chipper pace, and tried to focus on getting at least a bit cleaner and more comfortable. Yet the fox suddenly stopped in his tracks— almost falling flat on his face on the sidewalk.

Across from him, standing besides a massive sign reading 'one way', an antelope looked about every which way. Confusion almost dripped down her face as she folded her arms against her chest. Her blue and white striped dress matched her off-white shoes and pair of dark blue bracelets so perfectly. Nick gazed at her beautiful features for long time, her long hair brushing across her deep, pretty eyes in the chilly wind. Her tiny backpack, decorated neatly with a huge key-chain and various bright ribbons, had a strap dangling in the wind stamped with the name 'Renee'.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In a different world, in a different time, he would have confidently walked over and asked Renee if she needed any help. He would have devoured how adorable her blush would look in response, the fox still listening intently as she confessed to being lost. He would have flirted shamelessly, declaring that she had the appearance of a pop idol or fashion model rather than just a mere student.

The young lady would have felt appreciative to say the least, grinning from ear to ear, to hear his torrent of heartfelt compliments. The two of them would have headed over together to eat something, chatting about everything from music to art to the weather to whatever else she had in mind. He would have gotten to know her in great detail before too long. She would have eagerly done the same.

They would have gone on to spend a good chunk of the rest of the day together. He would have cracked all kinds of jokes, some shamelessly dirty, and she would have rewarded him with cute expression after cute expression. She would have invited him to visit her at her fancy college. He would have invited her to hang out by his nice apartment.

Renee would have found his happy attitude and raw energy simply infectious. They would have kept hitting it off wonderfully as time passed. Day after day would have meant experiencing all kinds of things together, running the dating gamut from fancy restaurant eating to seeing movies to relaxing in the park to everything in between. Their relationship would have blossomed completely, seeming like something out of a fairy tale.

He would have found himself finally able, some fateful day, to corner her after one of her classes. He would have held his paws gently against her shoulders and told her how much he cared for her. He would have confessed that he fell in love with her the moment he first saw her. She would have heard exactly how his entire body felt captured by this almost mythological sort of affection, and she would have learned exactly how he wanted to do anything for her. He would have gently caressed along the side of her face, completely losing himself in her gaze.

Renee would have kissed him. Their lips would have touched as if they formed some kind of spiritual seal, making it totally clear that they had pledged to be something special. His paws would have gripped her sides as they embraced, raw emotion just surging through both of their bodies. Their embrace would have lasted for something like an eternity. He would have experienced a true happiness the likes of which he'd never even dreamed of— with her almost crying as she confessed to feeling the same way.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Nick's collar turned yellow as his heart raced. The antelope continued to look around, totally oblivious to his existence. The fox held up a paw in the air, trying to take a deep breath. Renee flipped herself around, facing totally away from him, and began to walk away. Nick dropped his paw down, his eyes then locking upon the faded, chipped paint of the 'one way' sign, and forced himself to calm down.

As the antelope began to disappear into the distance, the fox remained totally still. Closing his eyes one more time, he could tell that his collar had prepared to switch back to its standard green. Though basically frozen as a statue, hoping not to push himself, Nick perked his ears up and listened to the tapping sounds of the antelope's shoes upon the sidewalk. Each little noise grew fainter and fainter than the last.

Nick opened his eyes after finally forcing his heart rate to normal. He stepped up to the sign, staring off in both directions, yet the antelope was nowhere in sight. Alone once again, he rubbed his paws on his temple and let his head swing down, eyes being on the cold pavement.

She had walked over there. She had walked away. That was that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading!
> 
> Inspired both by the 'Zistopia' universe as well as by a wonderful 60s-era pop song, this story snippet is a prequel to a previous piece that I've written. That one is called 'Theirs & Ours'. Both of them are one-shot stories, but I'm interested in writing more like this in the future. I'm also inspired by the Gazelle-x-Nick shipping going on, hoping to write less melancholy references to it too.
> 
> This version of Nick Wilde has lived a hard life, sadly, but as the other one-shot shows things get much better for him. I've decided to mark this as being complete for now. I've got a bunch of ideas for fleshing out things, maybe in terms of multi-chapter future stories, and we'll see what happens.
> 
> For a version of this story in Spanish, check out this translation by a great dude: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8852077/


End file.
